Building furniture is a hobby, not a business

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I’m a disabled Vietnam veteran who resides at Lake of the Pines and builds furniture as a hobby and donates it to friends, family and the men and women at Beale Air Force Base.

I’ve donated over 50 pieces of furniture to Beale, as well as the Women of Worth and many other organizations. I do this as a hobby and not a business.

The general manager of Lake of the Pines has sent me a letter telling me that I’m operating a business, not a hobby, and that he is requiring that I terminate working in my woodshop because it causes odors.

My immediate neighbors, approximately 12 of them, have all agreed to write letters and to appear on my behalf at the Covenants Committee meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 5. My neighbors know that I repair and build furniture for Beale and many have donated clothing, food, as well as furniture they no longer need, which I donate to the military.

I need public support to have the Covenants Committee rule that what I do as a hobby is not considered a profitable business venture and that I should be able to continue what I have been doing since I’ve lived at Lake of the Pines for the past 10 years.

At first the LOP management said my furniture was “unsightly” but all of my neighbors wrote letters and said that wasn’t the case since many of them own pieces of my furniture. I have a disabled neighbor who asked me to paint his three decks. I did not ask to be paid, but I voluntarily agreed and I provided the labor for three days to accomplish this goal.

My wife and I volunteer at the Nevada County Food Bank each and every Monday morning. In 2013, when our federal government closed, a neighbor and I drove two truckloads of food to Beale because their commissary was closed.

When we arrived, over 400 men and women were waiting for our arrival. In two hours, the two 26-foot trucks were empty.

In November of 2013 for Thanksgiving, the Nevada County Food Bank provided 300 turkeys to Beale and I drove those donations out to Beale.

I am a giving man, a veteran who tries to support the troops by providing my time and talents. I’m asking for some public support to stop the harassment that I have been receiving from the Environmental Committee at LOP.